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independence day

On this Independence Day here in the U.S., a country which has been a continuous republic for over 200 years, we thought it would fun to look at the countries that still have monarchies in 2015. Most are constitutional monarchies with a limited or ceremonial role, but it still begs the question of why bother with such an expensive and anachronistic institution?

Brunei

Absolute monarchy

Oman

Absolute monarchy

Qatar

Absolute monarchy

Saudi Arabia

Absolute monarchy

Swaziland

Absolute monarchy

Vatican City

Absolute monarchy

Andorra

Constitutional monarchy

Antigua and Barbuda

Constitutional monarchy

Australia

Constitutional monarchy

The Bahamas

Constitutional monarchy

Bahrain

Constitutional monarchy

Barbados

Constitutional monarchy

Belgium

Constitutional monarchy

Belize

Constitutional monarchy

Bhutan

Constitutional monarchy

Cambodia

Constitutional monarchy

Canada

Constitutional monarchy

Denmark

Constitutional monarchy

Grenada

Constitutional monarchy

Jamaica

Constitutional monarchy

Japan

Constitutional monarchy

Jordan

Constitutional monarchy

Kuwait

Constitutional monarchy

Lesotho

Constitutional monarchy

Liechtenstein

Constitutional monarchy

Luxembourg

Constitutional monarchy

Malaysia

Constitutional monarchy

Monaco

Constitutional monarchy

Morocco

Constitutional monarchy

Netherlands

Constitutional monarchy

New Zealand

Constitutional monarchy

Norway

Constitutional monarchy

Papua New Guinea

Constitutional monarchy

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Constitutional monarchy

Saint Lucia

Constitutional monarchy

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Constitutional monarchy

Solomon Islands

Constitutional monarchy

Spain

Constitutional monarchy

Sweden

Constitutional monarchy

Tonga

Constitutional monarchy

Tuvalu

Constitutional monarchy

United Arab Emirates

Constitutional monarchy

United Kingdom

Constitutional monarchy

Beyond actual countries, monarchies and hereditary rulers continue to be a fixture in the fantasy-novel genre, many of which are directly influences by Tolkein’s rather conservative Middle Earth. Most perplexing of all, however, is the obsession of some Americans with British royalty, the dynasty of the country we declared independence from 239 years ago today.

In addition to fireworks, barbecues and the occasional embarrassing musical tribute, Independence Day is an opportunity to reflect on living in one of the world’s most unusual countries, even as it sometimes tries to pretend that it is a normal country. The latter comes out the imagery one sees today, with celebrations and streets lined with flags, and people and places that we try to think of as representative of the term “American”. Here I look some images and ideas from my personal and family history that are part of “American” that most readers, both in the U.S. and beyond, would not usually associate with the typical 4th of July.

You likely will not see the tenement buildings of New York’s Lower East Side, where half of my ancestors, Jews from Central and Eastern Europe (primarily Austria as well as Russia) settled at the beginning of the 20th century.

My mother’s family later settled in the central part of the Bronx – richly vital neighborhoods at the time that would later be synonymous with controversial building and demolition projects (think of the Cross Bronx Expressway) and still later with urban blight and decay.

It’s even less likely that you will see the countryside of Uttar Pradesh in India, with the other half of my ancestors came from.

My father from this part of India came to study in Minnesota, and numerous other relatives have settled in various towns and suburbs arounds the U.S over the years. Indeed, the equivalent image to the New York City tenement builds for the Indian side of my family might as well be the New Jersey Turnpike, another image you are unlikely to see in today’s celebrations, but is quintessentially American.

These are the states that I can think of immediately where relatives either currently reside or did so in the recent past:

The Hawaii story is fun, actually. As it was related to me by a friend and former colleague who is from Hawai’i, he was playing with his band and a middle-aged man from New York approached them – ultimately, this led to his reciting his somewhat edgy poetry with their music in the background. It turns out that the poet is my cousin – our names are quite different, so there is no way my friend would have made the connection if I had not told him (the surprised reaction was priceless).

The family story is really a complex interplay not only of ancestral origins which get much of the attention, but of class, religious practice, geographical preferences, and the changes people experience even within a single lifetime. This complexity is another feature of American culture and history that is often hidden from our usual imagery – even the positive imagery that celebrates diversity, immigration and multiculturalism leaves out the complexity. And it is hard to think of life here without it – the idea of a homogeneous heritage in a single hometown with people who look and sound like each other seems…well, foreign.

So where does that leave things for me, now, in this story? Well, it’s complex as well. I find myself coming full circle to my Jewish ancestors in the Lower East Side – perhaps I may even live there sometime in the future. Some of my most experimental music pieces include instruments and idioms from Indian music. Some things have little to do with my ancestry, jazz which I have been returning to in the last year as a musical practice, the bits of East Asian culture I picked in both Asia and California, are all part of the mix. It’s not outside the realm of possibility that I might find myself in Hawai’i sometime doing improvised music and poetry. And like others, I am figuring out how to take all of these things make something of it in what seem to be rather challenging times. In the end, there is no conclusion, on the personal, family or national narratives – and it seems appropriate that way.

July 4 is the big Independence Day holiday here in the U.S. So we at CatSynth are now scrambling to find a recent Luna photo with patriotic colors, and this is the best we can do:

Of course, we are taking full advantage of our extended holiday weekend:

Yes, we are taking some much deserved rest, and with it the opportunity to restore mind, body and our living space. We are also contemplating the newly empty lot next door:

A vacant debris-strewn lot may seem like an odd image for Independence Day, but it quite meaningful for us. And the gritty urban landscape represents our country as much as the images of family picnics and small town parades that are often used as symbols of the holiday.